A Roulette Of Roses: Ruby Rose vs Johnny Atlas

[Tiamat]

God Johnny loved to run his mouth. It was something Ruby figured would be a nice trait, now she just wish he’d shut up. Though that his hard to do when you are the one on the receiving end. As Johnny's mocking words filled the arena, Ruby’s mind raced. He was toying with her, enjoying every moment of his dominance. Ruby doesn’t even know a lot about cards! But that overconfidence was something she could exploit. She might be down, but Ruby Rose wasn’t one to give up easily—not when she had so much to prove. As Johnny smirked, shuffling his deck of cards like the cocky con-man he was, Ruby used the precious seconds to gather her wits. She winced as she began to crawl toward the ropes. Johnny’s taunts, his lessons—she heard them loud and clear. And if there was one thing Ruby excelled at, it was learning on the fly.

The Jack of Clubs? Fine. Let him have his moment. Ruby knew the game wasn’t over yet.

As Johnny yanked her up by her hair, Ruby steeled herself the best she could. She could feel the ropes pressing into her back, the crowd's energy buzzing in her ears as Johnny reared back for the first of his clubbing strikes. The first blow landed squarely on her cheek, snapping her head to the side. Ruby wasn’t nearly as good as taking a punch like her sister. The second struck her abdomen, forcing the air from her lungs. Each hit seemingly coming faster than the last. Like Johnny was getting into some sort of rhythm. A shame that Ruby had to be the one on the other end of it. With her body being used as a sand bag, sent side to side from each blow. Johnny figured he was about done with Ruby as he caught her cleanly with an uppercut. Jolting the redhead upwards and backwards into the ropes, both arms draped over the ropes. Thankfully she wouldn’t fall over because of the ropes. But now she was prime fodder for Johnny.

[killcarrion]

Considering that one of Johnny's earliest occupations as a teenager was as a club barker enticing passersby to frequent nearby strip joints and shady casinos with outright lies about the amenities and qualities of the ladies who worked there, the smart-mouthed huckster knew perfectly well how to mesmerize and ensnare local bumpkins with his masterful way with words. Although in this specific instance, Johnny's conceited wordplay was just as much about distracting his rambunctious adversary than anything else. Intentionally making it more difficult to concentrate and collect herself when she's more focused on his smarmy taunting, smooth tone of voice and gambling terminology. An innocent flower like Ruby honestly had zero chance of outwitting him in the first place anyway, and he figured the entire audience could now see that for themselves as he playfully went about shuffling his cards in mid-pursuit of the battered Ruby sheepishly crawling herself towards the adjacent ropes.

Johnny picking The Jack Of Clubs meant that his flowery foe was in for the pummeling of a lifetime unfortunately. The conniving conman cracking his knuckles beforehand as he let his boxing expertise speak for itself. Rocketing strikes sunken into Ruby midsection and swaying her toned physique side to side with sprayed spittle and sweat droplets as if she were a crimson-haired punching bag. Feeling her jawline tighten from the roaring uppercut, Johnny sneered from what he figured was a knockout blow and backpedaled a step to soak in the appreciated sight of a defeated, pathetic and wilting rose. "Well, can't say this hasn't been a blast kiddo, but whatsay he draw the curtain on this romantic waltz or ours huh?~..." Johnny remarked as he strode up to cup the back of Ruby's head, yanking her off of the ropes while hunched over with her facials mushed against his muscled abdomen. Once in the middle of the ring, Johnny would signal for the end of the match and tuck Ruby's head between his legs in preparation of his Double Down finisher...